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A new Gallup poll found that "slim majorities" of Americans are very or somewhat closely following two controversies embroiling the Obama administration: 53 percent are keeping up with the Benghazi congressional hearings and 54 percent are following the IRS targeting of Tea Party tax-exempt applicants. Those numbers are "comparatively low based on historical measures of other news stories over the last two decades."
Well, scandal needs fuel — here's today's, courtesy of ABC News: Sarah Hall Ingram, the IRS commissioner who once oversaw the division that processes tax-exempt organizations, now heads the IRS office responsible for overseeing the new tax laws in Obamacare.
Hall's successor, Joseph Grant, "is taking the fall for misdeeds at the scandal-plagued unit between 2010 and 2012," say John Parkinson and Steven Portnoy at ABC News. On Thursday, he tendered his resignation. Grant was deputy or acting commissioner during that period, but only took permanent control of the office on May 8.
Ingram's connection to the scandal is sort of murky. An employee of the IRS since 1982, Ingram was named commissioner of the Tax Exempt/Government Entities Division in 2009, and ABC News suggests she held the job though 2012. But the IRS tells CNN that Ingram left for the Affordable Care Act division in December 2010, at which point Grant took over as acting commissioner.
Still, staffers in the sinister-sounding Determinations Unit started singling out Tea Party applicants for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status in mid-2010, so that puts Ingram in charge of the broader division when the scandal began. This is catnip for Obama critics — even if she had no role in putting conservative-sounding groups on the infamous "be on the lookout" (BOLO) list (and the inspector general's report suggests she wouldn't have).
Why? "Republicans had already tried to tie the IRS scandal to the healthcare law, simply by virtue of the fact that the IRS is responsible for a huge amount of the law's most significant provisions," say Sam Baker and Bernie Becker at The Hill. "A more direct connection to the Tea Party scandal, though, could inflame GOP criticism."
That's a pretty safe bet. The House's latest quixotic attempt to repeal Obamacare on Thursday was largely framed as a way to protect Americans from the IRS. "Obamacare empowers the agency that just violated the public's trust by secretly targeting conservative groups," said Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the news that Ingram had moved from the tax-exempt office to the Obamacare division "stunning, just stunning."
It's worth noting that Obama can't actually fire Ingram. She's a civil servant and the president can only sack the IRS' two political appointees: The commissioner and the general counsel. The commissioner is gone, replaced Thursday by Office of Management and Budget official Danny Werfel. But Obama has pledged to hold accountable anyone who had a role in the debacle.
Andrew Sullivan, in a post that otherwise called the Obama scandals overblown, says that Ingram "has no business still working in the IRS, let alone on healthcare reform. She should be fired."
Does Ingram really deserve the boot? "She is a 1979 graduate of Yale and a 1982 graduate of Georgetown Law," says Carol Platt Liebau at Townhall, so "she was obviously aware of just how unconstitutional and wrongful the targeting scheme was." But her move over the ACA division raises bigger questions:
It's interesting — and potentially significant — that she was put in charge of the Obamacare IRS office. Did someone in the administration know she could be trusted to play political hardball? Was the post a reward for her service at the IRS? Whose idea was this nomination? How far up the chain was it approved? [Townhall]
If Republicans can tie any part of the IRS Tea Party targeting to the Obama administration, says Ezra Klein at The Washington Post, "it would crack this White House wide open. That would be a genuine scandal."
But nothing in the inspector general's report indicates this was anything other than a move by managers in the Determinations Unit, which was slapped down when higher-ups found out. "The White House fired the acting director of the agency on the theory that somebody had to be fired and he was about the only guy they had the power to fire," says Klein. Unless there's a bigger revelation, he adds, "it's hard to see where this one goes from here."
Mark Tapscott at The Washington Examiner reports that Ingram received $103,390 in bonuses between 2009 and 2012, including $34,440 in 2010, $35,400 in 2011, and $26,550 last year. Here's what the White House Office of Personnel Management says about bonuses that big: "If the recommended award is over $25,000, the Director of OPM reviews the nomination and forwards his/her recommendation to the President for approval." (Tapscott also notes that Ingram got a $47,900 bonus from George W. Bush in 2004.)
Either way, "it's the law not to abuse power at the IRS to stifle one side's voices based on political or ideological criteria," says Mary Katherine Ham at Hot Air. "And, it was the law when Ingram was head of Exempt Organizations." Before she took over the tax-exemption unit in 2009, says Ham, she was its deputy commissioner from 2004 to 2006, "where she presumably would have had the opportunity to scrutinize the determination applications of a flood of left-leaning 501(c)(4)s."
Surely, the anti-Bush fervor and politics of an off-year election would have created a disproportionate number of liberal groups applying for status even pre-Citizens United — a situation similar to the one that allegedly justified the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives in 2010 — yet we haven't heard about Ingram coming down systematically on them. [Hot Air]
Now hold on, says Martin Longman at Booman Tribune. The groups that formed organically in response to Bush's decision to invade Iraq didn't have hidden donors, corporate sponsors, or lawyers. Unlike the Tea Party groups that sprang up in 2009, "none of us, as far as I know, asked the IRS for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status," says Booman:
I don't think it even occurred to any of us that we could pretend to be a social welfare group and raise money without being subject to taxation. That's because we aren't criminals. I am infuriated by these stories about Tea Party groups who are complaining that seeking tax-exempt status was like having a proctology exam. While I acknowledge that the IRS made unreasonable requests and caused unreasonable delays, I am even more outraged that they did not deny tax-exempt status to even one Tea Party group. Not one.
There isn't a single Tea Party group in the country that isn't primarily concerned with political matters. None of them should have qualified for tax-exempt status. None.... Opposing disastrous war serves the public welfare even better than opposing historically-low tax rates. Where's our refund? [Booman Tribune]
This article by Peter Weber originally appeared at TheWeek.com. Read more from TheWeek.com:
WATCH: CBS' Major Garrett Calls Out GOP over Doctored Benghazi Emails
Has Hillary Clinton Weathered the Latest Benghazi Flap?
How Suspected Terrorists Gamed the U.S. Witness Protection Program


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Welcome to the homepage of the artist Wilhelm Thöny!
The painter Wilhelm Thöny is one of Austria's most outstanding artists of the first half of the 20th century. He was a cosmopolitan and his works reflect the places, where he travelled to and where he lived. Graz, Munique, Paris, the Côte d'Azur and New York were the most important places of his life.
Out of his extensive oeuvre, which range from battle scenes of World War I to large-sized city views of New York, just a small part remaines. Plenty of his works were destroyed in 1948 during a fire at the store where he had kept most of his paintings and drawings.
Widder Fine Arts presents the works of the artist in a gallery in Vienna and on various art shows. If you are interested in selling or purchasing works of Wilhelm Thöny, you are invited to contact us by phone at 0043-1-512 45 69 or 0043-676-629 81 21, by e-mail at email@example.com or during a visit in our gallery.

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A story from The Memphis NewsOn newsstands throughout the city
The Memphis business brand may be so broad that it is too big to grasp in the world of venture capital, startups and site consultants.
The general public knows Elvis and FedEx and Stax and barbecue. But the city is more. Such is the nature of branding and identity.
Perhaps a more effective way to go about finding the essence of the success of the banner "made in Memphis" businesses defined by Memphis and which have in turn defined Memphis is to go within ourselves.
By that, we mean knowing our history beyond a babble of brand names we throw at visitors and without calling a week-long conference to define how we will all do exactly what those business leaders did.
Our pursuit of a vital and robust local economy all too often lacks the critical thinking skills we find in such need in our schools.
The story of businesses made in Memphis isn't someone with an original idea who came out of their office after intense study, said it once and the world beat a path to his or her doorstep.
Their business plans were ridiculed and revised, and rejected again and revised again. They had help. They had advice from others in business who were willing to tell them things they didn't want to hear but needed to hear.
And they struggled even after they got their enterprises going.
For an idea of the path Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inns, took and the mechanics of how it came to be, read David Halberstam's book "The Fifties."
And keep in mind, his struggle and success was a product of the times. These are different times. In some cases we call the same things by different names. But in other ways, you can't do things the same way these business giants did them.
Many of them didn't have offices in business "incubators" and they weren't assigned a "mentor" through a formal program. But they did have help and there were times when they must have felt completely alone.
Innovation requires strength. While we applaud and cover efforts that seek out innovation and try to make the path to market easier there is an element of this that can't be mentored or taught.
We think a key element in promoting innovation outside a formal process is the continuing discussions many parents have with their children as they prepare to leave Memphis for college or careers after college.
And we genuinely mean the discussion because in the reasons our young adults give for leaving Memphis are some of the answers we need. And in the hopes and real world wisdom of parents is the counsel that can infuse our more formal efforts to build a better Memphis with the idea that the best innovation is that which also helps to build and change a city that is home.


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Date(s) - Sunday, July 14, 2019
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Mare Island Art Studios
This year's MIAS's Book Arts exhibit is "Untold Stories".
In these times, individual's stories, narratives, and moments are rising to the surface. These may be a personal moment belonging to #metoo, or an experience that moved or changed the artist. It could be a simple experience that was sublime, a life-changer, or somewhere in between.


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Among those who came to his funeral were President Clinton and four former presidents: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush. He had no doubt that he was superior to them all. Admittedly, Watergate—"that silly, silly thing"—had been a lapse, but in his opinion, when it came to presidential business that truly mattered, not one of those eminent mourners was in the same league with Richard Nixon.
Monica Crowley thinks so, too. The conviction has prompted her to issue two memoirs creating a portrait of Nixon, as the title of her second book puts it, in the winter of his life. The burden of them is that he was a far more admirable figure than widely supposed, a president who got a dirty deal from powerful forces—"armies of enemies"—who hated him. Hers is not the Nixon of the Watergate tapes, but a genial, complicated, avuncular old fellow in whom most of the bile, not all but most, is spent.
She has nothing new to report on Watergate, but who has? The familiar defenses are mounted again. They all did it, Nixon was the victim of an unfair double standard, and so forth. For historians there is nothing of consequence, either, in what Nixon said to her about the Vietnam War, the Cambodian invasion, or the secretive foreign policy in which he connived with an equally manipulative Henry Kissinger.
What is irresistible, however, is the powerful sense she conveys of Nixon's personality when he was playing the endgame of his long struggle to come back from disgrace. This results from her use of extensive quotations. We often seem to be listening to yet another batch of Nixon tapes or, perhaps, tapes of another Nixon so different from the Watergate tapes that he seems to have undergone a character transformation. It is gossipy, outrageous, comical, fascinating, entertaining, delightful stuff.
To evaluate Crowley's Nixon, it helps to know something about Crowley herself. She worked for him for the last four years of his life, and her devotion clearly bordered on adoration. She was twenty-one when she started: Nixon was seventy-seven, old enough to have been her grandfather. She was born in 1968, the year he was elected president. Her first memory of him was of watching his televised announcement that he was resigning the presidency. She was then five years old.
He had been out of office some fifteen years when they first met. He had spent every one of those years laboring to rebuild a reputation shattered by Watergate. These labors included a tireless book-writing program. The books presented him as a sage elder statesman whose knowledge and experience of great events could be invaluable to the nation, if Washington would only bring him out of exile and heed his messages. Discussing a work-in-progress with Crowley, he told her, "I'm writing this book not because I need to do it for myself but because the country needs to hear this kind of realism from me." Years had passed with no one who counted listening to his realism.
Still, he went to the end without giving up. During Crowley's brief time with him, he traveled to Russia and China, no idle journeys for a man teetering at the edge of eighty. Comically, in Russia he infuriated Boris Yeltsin by meeting with Yeltsin's political opponents. Yeltsin reacted by cutting off Nixon's transportation and security privileges and canceling his appointments with government people. Afterward, at 5 AM in Moscow, Nixon phoned Crowley in America, telling her, "Yeltsin, of course, had had a few when he erupted at me. That's well-known."
Crowley is miffed about the Watergate affair. Such a fuss! And why? Because "armies of enemies" made a "relentless attack on him, even as others commit crimes as egregious and are allowed to survive." Yes, "he helped with his own hanging," but "we claimed his political scalp as a prize to show that those wrenching years [the 1960s] produced at least one ostensibly righteous result. In him, we found a receptacle for all of our self-hatred and misguided upheaval. In his wrongdoing, we found shelter from our own."
Nixon died for our sins?
Well, Crowley is unhampered by experience of the many Nixons who thrived between the Murray Chotiner "pink-slip" campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the "smoking gun." Then, too, given a chance for long, close-up study of an aging historical figure, it would be a strange scholar indeed who spoiled it all by applying a gimlet eye to the old man, and Crowley seems to have been a precocious scholar. In her junior year at Colgate, she wrote Nixon a long, analytical, occasionally critical letter about his book 1999: Victory Without War. He invited her to visit, was impressed, and hired her to help in his writings on foreign affairs. She thinks he fancied her as a useful instrument for improving his reputation in history:
I believe he trusted me because he saw me as a liaison between himself and future generations, someone to whom he could tell his story one last time and upon whom he could rely to relate that story to others…. With the end of life coming ever closer, he felt an inescapable need to have his final say before a new generation, to cement the comeback….
Although she must have gussied up Nixon's grammar to eliminate natural conversational stutters, her Nixon sounds like the genuine article. He blusters, fumes, feels sorry for himself, worries about the nation's moral decay, talks trenchantly about politics and foreign affairs, reminisces about old triumphs, repeatedly declares he will not "wallow in Watergate," complains incessantly about the unjust media, and goes on and on about his "enemies," those beloved, hateful, indispensable "enemies" so essential to his view of politics as a blood sport.
"Why do you think people hate me?" he asked Crowley out of the blue one day. Then: "The problem with [then President] Bush is that no one hates him. An effective leader needs enemies because then you know you're doing something right."
Nixon had a positive lust for enemies. One of the more absurd moments of his presidency was the drawing up of the famous "enemies list" of persons who, in the lexicon of the Watergate Nixon, would be "screwed." The person who should have been at the top of the list wasn't even on it. He was, of course, Richard Nixon. As Watergate demonstrated, he was clearly the most deadly enemy he had.
The considerable pleasures of Crowley's book come from the guilty sense that we are eavesdropping while he talks, and talks, and talks to what he believes to be an audience of one. Crowley is not troubled about reporting these confidential conversations. She believes he wanted her to speak to posterity in his behalf, but there is a great deal here that seems delightfully indiscreet for such a secretive man. Did Nixon really want his contempt for President Bush widely broadcast? Poor Bush. As Crowley tells it, he could do nothing to suit Nixon. The old master of foreign policy was outraged by Bush's handling of foreign affairs, and especially about his 1990 friendliness toward the Communist reformer Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union.
"Has Bush lost his mind?" Nixon asked Crowley when Bush did not try to shake Lithuania out of the Soviet bloc. "…He isn't moving an inch on Lithuania. He just keeps letting his friend Gorbachev roll over the poor place."
Another time: "The guy's got no guts. He just doesn't have it."
And: "I think it's nauseating that the media have proclaimed Bush a newly strong leader." Bush had been "seduced by Gorbachev." He was "too soft on Gorbachev."
Nixon despised Bush's secretary of state, James A. Baker: "Bad news," he called him. "There is no vision there with Bush and certainly not with Baker. Baker was overrated as a strategist, and now he's in totally over his head with foreign policy. He just looks like an amateur out there with [Soviet foreign minister Eduard] Shevardnadze, holding his hand and sounding like he has no backbone. And Bush isn't much better. There is no grand thinking going on over there, no vision. They call it crisis management; I call it lack of leadership."
Even Bush's haberdashery irked Nixon: "I wish Bush wouldn't talk about serious issues looking like he does. They catch him coming off the golf course, no tie, baseball cap—my God! Put on a tie! He should be dressed formally when discussing something as important as this [Soviet relations]. I always wore a suit—perhaps too much. I know it, but I was comfortable in it, and it was appropriate."
Nixon, who made "expletive deleted" a household phrase, was offended by Bush's locker-room talk about Saddam Hussein: "I cannot believe that Bush said 'We'll kick Saddam Hussein's ass.' Can you picture Gorbachev saying 'We'll kick ass in the republics'?"
It would be entertaining to hear him speak with equal candor about Ronald Reagan. It might have been poisonous. Soft as Bush was on Gorbachev, he told Crowley, Reagan would have "gone even farther." This, however, is the only judgment Crowley quotes on the Gipper.
Gerald Ford, his pardoner, receives a brief commendation: "And poor Ford. The pardon was the kiss of death politically, and he still did it. You've got to admire his guts on that score."
Exiled, shamed, and ignored through the Carter, Reagan, and Bush administrations, he was astonished to find the Democrat Clinton extending a friendly hand. Shortly after taking office, Clinton phoned for a forty-minute chat. Crowley suggests Nixon was euphoric.
…Most surprising—he confided in me; he said things that he absolutely would not want made public. I wonder if his wiretaps are working!
He was very respectful but with no sickening bullshit…. It was the best conversation with a president I've had since I was president…. It was never a dialogue with the others. I used to have to force things into the conversation with Reagan and Bush. This was a different cup of tea…. This guy does a lot of thinking.
Nixon seized the occasion to preach the importance of foreign policy, the area in which he considered himself a foremost authority. Did he immediately fancy himself becoming Clinton's wise man in foreign policy? "As long as he is talking to me, he'll be OK," he told Crowley. "If he relies on his Carter-type advisers, he will run into trouble."
Clinton invited him to the White House. It was a milestone in the long journey back toward respectability. Reagan and Bush had never done him this symbolic honor.
Eavesdropping, courtesy of Crowley, we learn what he thought of Robert McNamara ("typical elite intellectual type—cold and mean"); of Ted Koppel ("anti-Nixon all the way"); of foreign service officers ("the pits," "all bad," "all liberals, Democrats," but "usually they don't do too much damage"); of United Nations speeches ("worthless, but the media love that fluff"); of domestic economic problems ("let's face it, very boring").
He and Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam War for four years despite his 1968 campaign hints that he had a plan for ending it fast, yet he still despised the antiwar movement: "…To think that I was the one who had to face down those hippie hoodlums who opposed it. My God, I wasn't just from another generation from these people; it was like I was from a different planet." Still, despite those noisy protesters, he told Crowley, most Americans supported his war policy. Didn't his 1972 landslide victory over the dovish George McGovern prove it? Very likely, yes. He was always good on the mechanics of politics. About the rise of the religious right, for instance, he was ambivalent. After the 1992 election, he told Crowley:
I was disturbed to see that the religious right gained so much momentum. They can contribute very positively to the [Republican] party, and I'm glad they're on our side. But some of their positions, like outlawing abortion, are just too extreme for the United States. They must not be permitted to take over the party or the country. They are too hung up on individual kooky things. I admire their principles but don't think that they should be necessarily put into policy.
During the Anita Hill hearings, he gave Crowley a view of what an old political master might have done. Hill had endangered Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with charges of sexual harassment. Thus Nixon to Crowley: "If I were Bush, and Thomas is defeated, and I needed to choose another nominee, I'd stick it to all of them and go for a white woman reactionary card-carrying right-to-lifer! That would drive them crazy!"
Nixon was probably the president with the strongest intellectual instincts since Woodrow Wilson, yet he held intellectuals in contempt. Crowley says he thought them "coldly arrogant" toward "less sophisticated minds." Despite the conservative intellectual movement that was already remaking the Republican Party, he instinctively equated "intellectual" with "liberal Democrat."
Intellectuals are generally not nice people. The modern intellectuals are particularly bad; they're intellectual snobs and hypocrites. The conservatives are cold—they say they don't care, and they don't. The liberals say they care, and they don't. I have more respect for a true-believing Communist than for an American liberal…. Most [intellectuals] completely lack courage and have absolutely no heart whatever…. Intellectuals hate to admit that they're wrong. And most have led decadent lives; most are moral disasters.
Entertaining as all this faithfully recorded talk may be, there is something a bit eerie about it, too. All the lecturing by one man to a single listener—over 400 pages of it—begins to feel as if it's taking place in an airless, claustrophobic space. There is the sense of a Beckett play in progress: a lonely old man not far from death sits in a room sifting through memories and talking to a young woman. Once he had power to make armies march and millions die, and now he is struggling to persuade himself that he still matters, though he knows he doesn't. Now and then he confronts the reality and emits a cry of despair.
"But will anyone listen?" he asks Crowley. "Will they listen to me anymore?"
Later: "I have been out there talking, but no one in the goddamned administration is listening."
And, to Crowley: "When you go to sleep tonight, remember this: Presidents have some power; former presidents have none!"
After Crowley's claustrophobic Beckett monologue, Stanley Kutler's Abuse of Power feels like an old-fashioned Warner Brothers gangster film. It opens with the Boss giving an order to the boys: "Goddamnit it, get in and get those files. Blow the safe and get it." The speaker is Nixon. It is 1971. He is President of the United States. Monica Crowley is three years old.
In the very next scene, the Boss is ordering a shakedown of rich people eager to cap their careers with fancy ambassadorships. Of one well-heeled tycoon who yearns to be called "Mister Ambassador," he says, "I want him to be bled for a quarter of a million…. It'll be worth a quarter of a million to just [have to] listen to him…."
A few scenes later: "I'm going to get that Council [on] Foreign Relations. I'm going to chop those bastards off right at the neck."
Nixon connoisseurs will instantly recognize a fresh batch of White House tapes. They have been assembled, annotated, and edited by Stanley I. Kutler, a historian who struggled for years against lawyers and bureaucracies to get all of Nixon's tapes into the public domain. Fewer than forty hours of tapes had been released in 1974; those were enough to force Nixon to resign rather than face impeachment. There were thousands of hours more, however, and Nixon "fought ferociously" to keep them suppressed because, says Kutler, he feared they would damage his attempt to rebuild his reputation. Finally, in 1996, two years after his death, the National Archives and the Nixon Estate agreed to release some 3,700 hours of tapes over a four-year period.
Kutler's Abuse of Power consists of the first 201 hours of this previously unpublished material in edited form. The tapes begin with Nixon's curiously outraged reaction to the leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 and continue through the Watergate period until the public learns the tapes exist. They fill a book of more than 600 densely packed pages with a tale at once squalid and absorbing. If Crowley's purpose is to return Nixon to respectability, Kutler's is to drive a stake through his heart.
The argument has never been whether Nixon committed the criminal abuses of power embraced by the term "Watergate." The 1974 tapes were conclusive on that score. The question, as framed by Nixon's champions, has always been: Were his offenses graver than similar deeds committed by former presidents who didn't have the bad luck to have their every word recorded on tape? Since they all did it, it was unfair to single out Nixon for impeachment. The trouble with this defense is that it's very hard to prove that earlier presidents did, in fact, commit abuses comparable to Nixon's.
Kutler's book leaves no doubt that Nixon was involved from the beginning in the Watergate cover-up. But why? Kutler reads these latest tapes as evidence that Nixon was afraid of what might come out about criminal activities before the Watergate break-in. In his fury about the Pentagon Papers leak, he had created the so-called "plumbers," an assortment of adventurers who were supposed to deal with the leaks that outraged Nixon. Some of their plumbing was very odd indeed.
In one escapade they had broken into a psychiatrist's office searching for a patient's file. The patient was Daniel Ellsberg, who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times. The "plumbers" were apparently looking for material to damage Ellsberg's reputation. Don't ask how smearing Ellsberg would have diminished the public impact of the Pentagon Papers. We are dealing with people to whom revenge could be its own reward. Talking about Ellsberg to Robert Haldeman, his chief of staff, Nixon said they had to "convict the son of a bitch in the press. That's the way it's done."
The Watergate break-in was a "plumbers" operation. That was in 1972; they already had a full year of activity. "Plumbers" were among the crew arrested for the Watergate break-in. Suppose they started to talk. People have always wondered why Nixon didn't immediately accept responsibility for the break-in and shrug it off. Kutler believes it was because he knew that one small admission would open Pandora's box, revealing what Attorney General John Mitchell called "the White House horrors."
Breaking in seemed to be a way of doing business at the Nixon White House. The new tapes show that a year before Watergate, Nixon himself ordered a break-in at the Brookings Institution, a centrist Washington think tank. He thought it held classified material about Pentagon activity: "I want them just to break in and take it out," he tells Haldeman. Then, referring to E. Howard Hunt, who was later to lead the Watergate break-in: "You talk to Hunt. I want the break-in. Hell, they do that. You're to break into the place, rifle the files, and bring them in."
Next morning, learning that the break-in hasn't yet happened, he lectures on the nature of politics:
These kids don't understand. They have no understanding of politics…. John Mitchell is that way. John is always worried about is it technically correct?… I want you to shake these (unintelligible) up around here. Now you do it. Shake them up. Get them off their Goddamn dead asses…. We're up against an enemy, a conspiracy. They're using any means. We are going to use any means. Is that clear?
This fresh group of tapes may be of more interest to historians and law students than to the general reader, but it contains hundreds of entertaining glimpses of life in the Oval Office as a president feels his power crumbling away. We learn, for example, that Nixon kept Senator Ted Kennedy under surveillance for nine months to learn about his "after-hours" activities. "Just might get lucky and catch this sonofabitch and grill him for '76," Nixon muses.
There is Nixon's strange obsession with Lawrence O'Brien, the Democratic national chairman, in whose office the Watergate burglars were arrested. O'Brien is targeted for an IRS tax audit. "We wanted to rummage through the records," Haldeman explains. It was 1972, and O'Brien asked that the audit be postponed until after the election. Request denied, Haldeman reports. Nixon: "That's a lot of nerve, to say to put it off until after the election." Later, Haldeman reports the IRS hit "a dry hole."
By the summer of 1973, with the cover-up collapsing, Nixon becomes furious at Senator Howard Baker. Baker is the ranking Republican on the Senate Select Committee, which is systematically demolishing Nixon's defense. Baker's objective stance has irritated Nixon for weeks; now his temper explodes. Senator Sam Ervin, the committee's Democratic chairman, suggests that he and Baker come to the White House for a conference.
"I said I would talk to him [Ervin] alone," Nixon says. "Otherwise, we'll get that simpering asshole Baker down here…. I'm not gonna let him come in."
Fifteen minutes later:
…Now Howard Baker…never be in the White house again—never, never, never…. He will never be on a presidential plane again…. Now I screwed him today…. Ervin…said he and Baker he wanted to come, I said, "Oh, no," I said, "I'll see you alone. Baker is not going to be here again."… I don't want anybody in the White House to ever have any contact with him again. Ever. And another thing is this: cut him off. Give him a deep freeze.
That same day Henry Kissinger comes to the Oval Office with good news. He has just had a phone call from Norman Mailer, who is doing an article on Watergate. "Well, he says… for the first time in his life, he's beginning to like you." At this point only a person with a heart of stone can possibly laugh.
After so much about the bizarre aspects of Nixon's personality, Allen J. Matusow reminds us that there was far more to his presidency than scandal. It is easy to forget that, while struggling with Watergate, he was also at grips with complex economic problems, including the worst recession of the postwar years. Professor Matusow's economic history of the Nixon years is remarkable not only for the subtlety with which he analyzes Nixon's economic predicament, but also for a clear and graceful prose that makes it a pleasure to read.
The predicament was that Nixon "happened to occupy the presidency at the moment when the postwar boom ground to a permanent halt." From the outset, he had to deal with "economic traumas more severe than anything known since the Great Depression." The economy was faltering by the end of his first year in office. During the time of Watergate, he confronted worldwide food shortages, an unprecedented oil crisis, double-digit inflation, and the worst recession of the postwar years.
At the end of 1971 it seemed possible that a depressed economy could destroy his hopes for reelection. Matusow's book details the twists and turns with which he tried to avoid this. It was a cruel trial for Nixon, who was illiterate in economics and, moreover, bored by the subject. His search for experts' advice finally turned up the unlikely John Connally, one-time protégé of Lyndon Johnson and now a Democrat for Nixon. Nixon made him secretary of the treasury and took such an astonishing liking to him that he ultimately said Connally was the only man qualified to succeed him in the presidency.
As an economist, Connally proved disastrous. He was influential in persuading Nixon to do the unprecedented by imposing wage and price controls in peacetime. That failed. Connally's bellicose call for a showdown in world trade, if anything, probably deepened the troubles of American exporters. He proposed to force open foreign markets with punitive measures against nations that refused to cut back their exports to America. In this "get-tough-with-the-world" policy, Matusow says, Connally and his colleague Peter Peterson of the Council for International Economic Policy "nearly wrecked the world trade system."
Matusow is especially good on Nixon as politician. Neither liberal nor conservative, he was out to preempt the center of American politics by building a "New Majority." The old majority was Democratic, forged by Franklin Roosevelt, and consisted of an alliance between Southern conservatives, labor, and Northern liberals. Like the one-horse shay, it was ready to fall to pieces, and Nixon sensed it.
In addition to social conservatism, waving the flag, and playing the race card, Nixon sought center ground by judicious expansion of the welfare state. It was no part of Nixon's initial purpose to cut taxes or slash expenditures, as conservatives were urging. He knew that spending money was more popular than pinching pennies, and he favored balancing the budget only so long as it did not cost him votes.
To convert labor, he courted George Meany, leader of the AFL-CIO. He adopted a destructive policy of imposing quotas on Japanese imports in order to satisfy the old Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, who was vital to his plans for capturing the South. Thurmond's South Carolina textile mills were suffering under Japanese competition.
Nixon never fails to surprise us. Thus, for example, Matusow, having apparently hacked his way through the impenetrable Haldeman Diaries, finds Nixon talking about creating a new party with Connally's help:
Following the November elections, the two of them would move to build a new political party, the Independent Conservative Party, "or something of that sort," that would include Southern and other conservative Democrats, along with middle "road to conservative Republicans."
By the end of Nixon's second term, they could dramatically change the country's entire political structure. "The candidate of the new party in 1976 would be John Connally."
Perhaps Nixon was just schmoozing here with Haldeman. He was a masterful political tactician. Surely he couldn't have believed that the country was ready for another Texan in the White House so soon after Lyndon Johnson.
This Issue
July 16, 1998


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Volvo XC90 - A super Swede
The imposing XC90 is a deceptively large car that is a genuine seven seater unlike some so called seven seaters with the third row of seats being suitable for average adult passengers and with them folded as they are likely to be for much of the time the load area is really cavernous.
XC90 which has permanent four wheel drive has a very distinctive Volvo front with solid conservative styling at the side and rear that overall provides the car with an elegant appearance which is more car-like than some of its rivals that adds to its street appeal.
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Hide AdOn test was the entry level XC90 D5 AWD Momentum costing £45,750 on the road and while it had numerous options on board taking the price to £51,715 there was nothing basic about the standard equipment which included leather seats and brilliant LED bending headlights that made night driving much more relaxing and the best I have come across.
There was also a very useful power operated hands free opening tailgate plus a pedestrian and cyclist detection system and front collision warning with auto brake plus run off road protection.
Optional kit included the winter pack with heated front seats steering wheel and windscreen, queue assist, parking camera, park assist and a 12.3 inch active TFT crystal driver's information display.
My car which had eight speed automatic transmission was powered by the very smooth and responsive new 2.0-litre four cylinder diesel engine that produced a top speed of 137mph zero to 60mph time of 7.4 seconds and a combined fuel consumption of 49.6mpg with CO2 emissions of 149g/km.
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Hide AdThere is that aura of luxury associated with five star hotels as soon as you enter the cabin which provides the driver and passengers with an immediate feeling of wellbeing and as soon as the car moves off you can tell the XC90 is something very special.
The steering has a very precise feel about it and the handling and roadholding qualities combine to provide a superb ride for all those on board with the new Volvo Drive-E 225hp diesel engine providing plenty of power in all driving situations especially rapid acceleration.
Virtually all the controls are on the large central screen which may be alright in theory but I would have preferred some of them such as those for things like temperature and audio to have been manually operated for looking at the screen whilst driving was a tad distracting.
Otherwise the new high tech XC90 is a wonderful solid and safe luxury SUV that is a tribute to the Scandanavian company now under Chinese ownership and for those considering such a vehicle they will not be disappointed for it is an ideal motorcar to have in your garage especially with winter approaching.
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Hide AdThere is no doubt that the new big XC90 takes Volvo to a new level and now provides a really tempting alternative to those aforementioned rivals in particular from the UK and Germany plus others and interest in the car indicates that it is set to be a huge success for the company.
Fact File
Model: Volvo XC90 DS AWD Momentum.
Engine: 2.0-litre four cylinder diesel.
Output: 225hp@4250rpm.
Transmission: Eight speed automatic.
Top speed: 137mph.
Acceleration: 0 to 60mph 7.4 seconds.
Fuel consumption: 49.6mpg combined.
C02 emissions: 149g/km.
Price: £45,750 on the road.


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As the weather starts to cool and the foliage turns colors, we may notice a change in the foods our bodies crave. The desire for an ice popsicle just might be replaced by a yearning for a warm bowl of soup.
In Chinese medicine consuming foods that correspond to each season is thought to create harmony and balance.
Fruits and vegetables contain the most concentrated nutrients and flavor when they are consumed in season.
Autumn is the perfect time to try new produce that is packed with delicious phytochemicals to keep your taste buds and health in shape throughout the entire season.
Whether you enjoy apple picking or perusing through a pumpkin patch, you will fall into health with these tasty picks!
An Apple A Day Keeps The Weight Away
These shiny fruits are not just for your teacher anymore! A recent USDA-funded study assigned 160 women from ages 45 to 60 to eat dried apples daily for one year. The results demonstrated a 23 percent drop in LDL cholesterol and lower levels of C-reactive protein and lipid hydroperoxide.
The women dropped an average of three pounds, despite consuming the extra calories from the dried apples. This miracle fruit may be enjoyed raw, dried, or baked, but limit the apple pies if you want the full benefits.
For breakfast try to chop a crispy apple into your hot oatmeal and sprinkle with walnuts and your favorite spices for a boost of fiber and heart-healthy omega three fatty acids.
Brussels Sprouts Defend From Cancer And Disease
You may want to rethink feeding Fido your Brussels sprouts under the table! Countless studies link Brussels sprouts to cancer prevention and protection from disease. Chock full of Vitamins A, C, E, and powerful antioxidants, it is time to invite these mini cabbages back to your dinner table. Their cardio-protective and anti-inflammatory benefits make them a perfect fall side dish.
You may also want to try a variety of cabbages for their digestive health benefits. Studies demonstrate that cabbage contains a multitude of nutrients that benefit our stomach and intestinal linings.
For a colorful meal, shred red and green cabbage together. Then add some sesame oil, lemon juice, and your favorite spices. Enjoy with baked fish for a wholesome meal packed with phytonutrients and flavor!
Root Your Way To Health
If you love to chomp on bright orange carrot sticks or savor the terrific taste of turnips, you will be happy to take advantage of the root vegetables that are staples of the fall season. Tasty tubers like sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, and taro pack a punch of potassium, fiber, beta-carotene, iron, and folic acid, supporting a healthy immune system.
Baking, roasting, or adding these delicious roots to stews is a great way to enjoy these nutrient powerhouses.
Make a mélange of roasted beets, turnips, rutabaga, and parsnips for a low-fat side dish that will keep your belly – and tastebuds – satisfied.
Beets contain powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, thanks to betalains, the pigment that gives them their deep red hue. Grate raw beets into your favorite salad or steam and serve them with lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for a tasty side dish.
Bonus Tip: For an added antioxidant kick, try Liquid Whole Food Vitamins, a bio-absorbable liquid whole food vitamin formula made with organic ingredients.
The Perfect Pear For An Antioxidant Boost
In season through October, this juicy and sweet fruit comes in a variety of colors and textures. This fragrant fruit is a member of the rose family and is a great source of copper and vitamin C, which can help protect our bodies from free radical damage. To enjoy the full antioxidant benefits of pears, it is best to eat them ripe. How to tell if it is ripe?
Check the neck! Gently press your thumb against the neck. If it yields to slight pressure, it should be ready to eat.
Pears are also an excellent source of dietary fiber, which has been shown to promote colon and cardiovascular health. Add a chopped pear to a warm bowl of quinoa, sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds, and drizzle with honey.
May you live long, live strong, and live happy!
Dr. Mao Shing Ni, best known as Dr. Mao is a bestselling author, doctor of Oriental Medicine and board certified anti-aging expert. He has appeared regularly on "Dr. Oz," "The Doctors," and "EXTRA." Dr. Mao practices acupuncture, nutrition and Chinese medicine with his associates at the Tao of Wellness in Santa Monica and Newport Beach. Dr. Mao and his brother, Dr. Daoshing Ni founded Tao of Wellness more than 25 years ago in addition to also founding Yo San University in Marina del Rey. To make an appointment for evaluation and treatment please call 310.917.2200 or you can email Dr. Mao at email@example.com. To subscribe to his tip-filled newsletter please visit www.taoofwellness.com.


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STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish truck maker AB Volvo saw profits tumble in the fourth quarter as sales slumped 17 percent on weakening demand in key markets, the company said Wednesday.
The net profit in the final three months of 2012 was 793 million kronor ($125 million), down from 4.72 billion kronor in the same period a year earlier. Sales fell to 71.8 billion kronor from 86.5 billion kronor in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Europe's debt crisis eroded demand, particularly in financially strapped southern Europe, where Volvo-owned Renault Trucks' order intake dropped by 18 percent. In North America, orders fell by 21 percent as customers delayed purchases due to sluggish job growth and concerns over the fiscal cliff, Volvo said.
"North American customers have remained cautious because of uncertainty about the future economic development," the company said. Still, it maintained its forecast that the market for heavy trucks in 2013 would reach about 250,000 in North America and 230,000 in Europe.
Volvo shares rose 4 percent to 96.55 kronor in Stockholm.
Last month, Volvo announced it would buy a 45 percent stake in China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co. — a deal it said would make it the world's biggest heavy trucks maker.
Trucks represent two-thirds of Volvo's sales, but the Goteborg, Sweden-based company also makes buses, construction equipment and boat and aircraft engines. Volvo sold its car division in 1999 to Ford Motor Co., which in turn sold it to China's Geely Holding Group in 2010.


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How to protect the scalp from skin cancer
As summer heats up, we've learned to slather SPF 15 or higher all over our bodies and faces in an effort to prevent sun damage and skin cancer. We've also been told to recite our ABCs when checking for unusual moles: asymmetry, border irregularity and uneven color. Unfortunately, our scalps are often neglected. Sunscreen is transparent on skin, but who wants to go to work with greasy roots? How many people wear a hat during their lunch break? And who can see a mole on top of her own head?
Skin cancer of the scalp is not as common as on other areas of the body. But it poses its own set of challenges. "The problem is that the hair can obscure a skin cancer so that the diagnosis is delayed," says Dr. Ronald Moy, president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Although those with thick hair have less to worry about — the hair acts as a barrier to the sun and protects the scalp — those with balding or thinning hair are more susceptible to developing skin cancer. "Skin cancer is very common on the scalp in thinning individuals — males and females — since it usually stands out to get direct sun exposure," says Dr. Paul McAndrews, clinical professor at the USC School of Medicine.
Lighter skin and the total accumulation of sun exposure to the scalp pose the biggest risk factors. "Fairer individuals have less melanin in their skin to block UV rays," McAndrews says. "Balding persons will have less hair to block the UV rays, which leads to more exposure to the damaging effects of UV rays."
Using a zinc oxide or titanium oxide sunblock, such as Blue Lizard Australian Suncream ($11.99 for 3 ounces; https://www.drugstore.com) or a sunscreen that absorbs both UV-A and UV-B rays — and reapplying every few hours — can reduce sun exposure and reduce risk. Balding individuals can easily apply sunscreen to their scalps, but those with hair find it trickier to protect the scalp without resorting to a greasy style. "The problem with sunscreens for the scalp is they tend to leave hair a little on the lank side," says Philip Kingsley, founder of the Philip Kingsley Trichological Centre in New York.
Many hair-care manufactures offer SPF products specially formulated to help protect scalps from the sun. For daily use, Kingsley recommends a lighter spray formula. "Spray at the roots, and then smooth fingers over the scalp," he says. The key is to lightly rub the product into the scalp because if you just spray it over the hair it will absorb into the follicle and offer little protection to the skin. Try Phyto Plage Protective Beach Spray ($22; https://www.phyto.com) or Smart Girls Who Surf Care for Hair Sun Protector ($8.50; https://www.smartgirlswhosurf.com).
Also, change your part often so one area of the scalp is not consistently exposed to the sun: "I have removed skin cancers on the part-line and the 'cow-lick' area of people's scalps," McAndrews says.
If you're at the pool or beach, Kingsley recommends a cream formula such as his Kingsley Swim Cap Cream (which he developed for the 1984 Olympic synchronized swimming team). Slather it over hair and into scalp, then style hair back into a slick ponytail.
In 1999, Scottsdale, Ariz., hair colorist Monica May Sanders lost her mother, Chloe, to skin cancer that had originated on the scalp. "I had noticed she had a mole on the top of her head, but I had no idea it was even possible to have melanoma on the scalp. Looking back, that was pretty ignorant," she says. The diagnosis led her to pay closer attention to her clients, taking notice of unusual-looking moles.
Sanders also embarked on developing a multipurpose product to protect the scalp while addressing other style needs too. She worked with Amour Cosmetic to develop a product called Hair Shadz. The powder formula contains zinc oxide and comes in eight shades to blend root regrowth in those who color their hair, to act as a dry shampoo and to protect the scalp. Sun Shadz is a translucent version of the product for those who seek only scalp protection. The products offer an SPF 15 protection, according to AMA Laboratories, a clinical testing facility.
One caveat: Zinc oxide is an effective sunblock, but its efficacy in a powder form is unknown, McAndrews says.
Of course, a hat offers the best protection against skin cancer of the scalp. Pay attention to the weave — the tighter the weave, the less exposure to damaging UV-A and UV-B rays.
Also, hats with ultraviolet protection can offer additional coverage, such as Coolibar hats (starting at $18, https://www.coolibar.com) made out of Suntect fabric, rated as UPF of 50+ and recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation.


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Unique Study Links Venus to Romantic Choices People Make
By Edward Snow
Like Ravel's musical masterpiece Bolero, the romantic cadence may have soared to an exhilarating crescendo. Only in your love song, the orchestra hit some sour notes and the relationship's rhythm was shattered beyond repair.
Astrologer Paul Westran has a tested theory about relationships that unfold in this way. In a rigorous, eight year study involving 1,300 couples, he examined the correlations between planetary alignments and real events in people's lives and came up with some surprising results.
Curiously, Westran's research failed to support the popular idea that certain sun signs are more compatible (with each other) than others. But he did find evidence that Venus, the planet astrologers have traditionally identified with the principle of attraction, appears to impact personal relationships in predictable ways.
His research supports the idea that angular alignments between planets, what astrologers call aspects, appear to work the way astrologers say they should.
He also found statistical support for the method astrologers call synastry, which compares the angular alignments between planets in compared natal birth charts or horoscopes. Most commonly, this technique is used to evaluate compatibility potential between couples.
Surprisingly, Westran also showed that planets that are progressed or moved ahead using the technique astrologers call "secondary progressions" are significantly more involved at the start-up of relationships than previously suspected.
Why Relationships Wax and Wane
In the study, favorable aspects between the sun and Venus turned up in the compared synastry charts of couples a lot more frequently than expected by chance. This was an important finding for astrology, but Westran had other questions. For example, is there a better astrological explanation for why intensity levels in relationships tend to wax and wane the way they do. Can astrologers more accurately determine not only who might be attracted to whom but how the relationship might progress over time? What role, if any, do progressed planets play in the unfolding drama?
Normally, secondary progressions are used to help time events in individual birth charts. Astrologers calculate how far the sun, moon and planets have progressed around the horoscope wheel using a day-for-a-year formula. For every year that passes, planets in the progressed horoscope are advanced the number of degrees they have actually traveled in a single day, either forward or backwards (if retrograde). To find how far planets have progressed by age 30, the astrologer simply counts forward 30 days from the date of birth and casts a chart for that day.
In a progressed chart, the sun advances about one degree per day, but the progress of the moon and planets is uneven with planets closer to the sun in tighter orbits typically moving around the wheel more swiftly. In this race, Mercury and Venus are usually track stars when compared with foot-dragging Jupiter and Saturn. And the earth-orbiting moon moves with lightning quickness.
Westran believes the major finding emerging from his study is that progressed synastry aspects are powerful indicators of how relationships will evolve over time. He likens natal synastry to a photograph or a message fixed in time. Progressed synastry aspects are more like a movie with a beginning, middle and definable end.
In a couple's natal synastry chart, Venus may not be forming a major aspect with the sun. But this may no longer be the case 30 years later when the couple meets for the first time. With progressed synastry, aspects can be observed dynamically forming, conjoining and subsequently moving out of orb (outside their range of influence) at the end. In his study, Westran was able to show that progressing synastry aspects dynamically reflect or correspond with romantic developments in the lives of real people.
Sun/Venus Aspects Obvious Immediately
From his home in Perth, Australia, Westran runs a successful astrological consultancy with clients on four continents. He is a former crime analyst and forensic software expert and explains that the astrological research activity began as "exploratory analysis." Almost immediately, Sun/Venus aspects stood out and were showing up between progressed horoscopes with great regularity as well.
For the research, Westran needed accurate birth data and confirmable biographical information. The only option was to use public figures and celebrities, which meant relying extensively on well researched products like the AstroDatabank celebrity database. However, each personal history needed to be carefully checked before trying to determine whether the astrology agreed with the couples' personal stories or not. At first, he created research matrices and counted aspects manually but eventually developed software to calculate the aspects. However, for years it was a laborious manual process.
The major aspects astrologers consider are the conjunction, which occurs when celestial bodies are closely aligned in the same sign, and the opposition, which occurs when planets are roughly 180 degrees apart in opposite signs. Also considered are the compatible 120 degree trine, the stressful 90 degree square, and, to a lesser extent, the helpful 60 degree sextile. Among the progressed synastry aspects considered in Westran's study were natal sun and natal Venus, natal sun and progressed Venus, progressed sun and natal Venus, and progressed sun and progressed Venus.
Convincingly, the study confirmed that sun/Venus synastry aspects, both natal and progressed, turned up more frequently than expected at the start of relationships. When taking into account all of the possible sun/Venus synastry connections, the odds that positive synastry aspects would turn up as often as they did at the start of relationships were 900,000 to one against chance, or substantially greater than needed to demonstrate statistical significance. Although less impressively, certain synastry alignments of Venus with Venus and Venus with Mars presented at the start of relationships with statistical significance as well.
Based on a careful evaluation of every natal and progressed synastry chart collected, Westran is convinced that progressed synastry aspects are more powerful and intense than natal synastry aspects. In arriving at this conclusion he was aided by the unique format he created to graphically illustrate and track progressing synastry aspects. In his book, When Stars Collide, the author presents page after page of documented case studies and uses what he calls "collision charts" to dynamically show correlations between progressed synastry aspects and events unfolding in the lives of real people.
For example, Westran says Prince Charles and Diana had a "hugely illustrative" set of progressed synastry aspects working during their time together, including the example above which shows Charles' progressing Venus forming a trine to Diana's progressing sun. The aspect helped define the early years of the relationship, but the storybook romance started to unravel after the progressed aspect became exact and started to wane. The marriage was officially over by the time it was no longer operative (in orb).
The newest Royal couple, William and Kate, caught a celestial break with a rare, long-lived progressed synastry trine aspect involving Kate's progressed Venus and William's natal Venus. The aspect is long-lived because Kate's progressed Venus was retrograde (traveling backwards in the heavens from our earth-bound point of view) when then couple met in 2000, and only began moving slowly forward in 2004. At its current pace, the progressed synastry aspect will not separate until 2030, at which time the couple will be able to rely upon other helpful aspects in both their natal and progressed synastry charts.
Westran believes progressed aspects provide a fertile field for future research efforts. For example, a promising new study looks at dynamic connections between the sun and Mars in the progressed charts of world leaders. Historically, the years 1922 and 1949 were significant for Stalin and Mao because they came to power in the USSR and China as progressed Mars advanced to form a conjunction with their natal sun. But a Mars/sun connection also was in play when Churchill, Truman, both Castro brothers, Mussolini and others came to power in their respective countries.
Additional tables and charts specifically related to this article are posted at www.positiveastrology.com/ANS.asp.
On the www.positiveastrology.com website, visitors can access a database that will enable them to produce their own progressed and natal synastry reports.
Secondary Progressions were possibly first alluded to by Johannes Kepler, but described in detail by Placidus de Titus in his book Primum Mobile in 1657. Placidus was influenced by Kepler and he referred to quintiles in his work, as aspect which was introduced by Kepler.
Henry Coley quotes Placidus' method of progressions being used in about 1690.
Secondary progressions were so named by Placidus because he regarded another (much more complex) method known as Primary Directions to be the pre-eminent way to advance a birth chart and that his method was simply an adjunct to use as a check after having directed the chart.
What this means is that we know more-or-less where secondary progressions originated; however we can be less certain about the other earlier methods of direction and progression which came down from antiquity. What this tells us is that Secondary progressions are likely to have been studied a little prior to their acceptance while the earlier methods are likely to have been accepted as received wisdom by later astrologers.
While Kepler had a collection of 800 horoscopes, we can't be certain that any astrologers prior to the 20th Century did any scientific experimentation with large enough data samples to derive good rules of thumb. We also know that none had databases able to create data models and graphic depictions of astrological patterns.
We are still waiting for a study of Primary Directions that will allow them to earn the pre-eminence ascribed by Placidus and those admirers of his that followed. As it stands the far simpler and more intuitively fractal-like Secondaries occupy this position both in experimental astrology and in common practice.
There is an astrological rule introduced by Charles Carter which states that "no direction (or – we assume – progression) can bring to pass what is not shown in the nativity". This is absolutely not the case for secondary progressions and this is evidenced over and over again in the cases featured in When Stars Collide.
The following books describe secondary progressions in such a way that it is easy to take the necessary next step to applying them to synastry:
Laurie Efrein, How to Rectify a Birth Chart, Aquarian Press, 1987
Bernadette Brady, Predictive Astrology the Eagle and the Lark, Weiser, 1999
Nancy Anne Hastings, Secondary Progressions Time to Remember, Weiser, 1984
The following books mentioned the possibility of progressions and synastry:
Fred Gettings, The Arkana Dictionary of Astrology, Arkana, 1985. The author writes: "synastry…may be extended from ordinary radical chart interpretation to the study of progressed charts."
Marion D. March and Joan McEvers, The Only Way to Learn about Relationships Volume 5: Synastry Techniques, ACS, 1992 by has a section entitled Synastry by Progression
Robert Blaschke, Astrology: A Language of Life Volume I – Progressions, Earthwalk School of Astrology, 1997 includes a section on Synastric Progressions.
Robert Blaschke, Astrology: A Language of Life Volume IV – Relationship Analysis, Earthwalk School of Astrology, 2004, expands upon this earlier section.
Paul Westran When Stars Collide Why we love who we love and when we love them, O Books, 2006 – this book is the first dedicated solely to progressed synastry and details the scientific nature of progressed synastry aspects using a study of 1300 public record relationships. It introduced the collision graph.
Paul Westran, Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts? The Mountain Astrologer, September/October 2003 introduced the progressed synastry matrix.
Paul Westran, Reclaiming the Mars Effect for Astrology. The Mountain Astrologer, Mercury Direct, August/September 2010 introduced the idea that progressions solve problems raised by Gauquelin's Mars Effect.
About the author
Category: Research
Tags: astrology research, progressed synastry, Ravel, relationship choices, romance, Venus
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Legendary soul singer Bobby Womack, who rose to prominence with such hits as "Lookin' For A Love" and "That's The Way I Feel About Cha," died Friday at age 70, his publicist says.
Womack began putting out records in the early 1960s as the lead singer of The Valentinos. He straddled styles ranging from R&B to country.
The Valentinos' hit "It's All Over Now" was recorded by the Rolling Stones and went to No. 1 on the U.K. singles charts.
Variety says Womack was "a gutsy singer and a superlative axe man" who "charted nearly 50 hits, the majority of them self-penned, during his career of more than 40 years."
The magazine says:
"Born in Cleveland to a musical and religious family, Womack began singing and playing guitar at an early age. He toured the gospel circuit with his brothers. Cooke — also a product of gospel music, and the former lead singer of the Soul Stirrers — took the act under his wing, and recorded for SAR with a new moniker. After scoring a No. 8 hit in 1962 with 'Lookin' For a Love,' the group reached No. 21 in 1964 with 'It's All Over Now,' which the Rolling Stones turned into a top 30 pop hit the same year.
"After Cooke was shot and killed in an incident in a Los Angeles motel in 1964, the Valentinos disbanded. Womack scandalously married Cooke's widow Barbara three months after the singer's death."
"In 2012, Womack began a career renaissance with the release of The Bravest Man in the Universe, his first album in more than 10 years. Produced by Damon Albarn and XL's Richard Russell, the album made Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2012 alongside numerous other critical accolades. 'You know more at 65 than you did at 25. I understand the songs much better now,' Womack told Rolling Stone at the time. 'It's not about 14 Rolls Royces and two Bentleys. Even if this album never sells a nickel, I know I put my best foot forward.' Upon his death, Womack was in the process of recording his next album for XL, tentatively titled The Best Is Yet to Come and reportedly featuring contributions by Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and Snoop Dogg.
"Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. 'My very first thought was — I wish I could call Sam Cooke and share this moment with him,' Womack said. 'This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black President of the United States of America! It proves that, if you're blessed to be able to wait on what's important to you, a lot of things will change in life.' "
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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The 'vintage' label often applied to Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica has always come with a caveat: they play a cerebral yet recognizable mid-century style—exotica in the school of Les Baxter and Juan Garcia Esquivel—but have always given themselves permission to bring in new elements. Their tunes compile world music, classical, modern jazz, and whatever else they feel like, really.
The new album, Where Here Meets There, continues that ambition, departing even further from the 'traditional' exotica sound (though exotica, by definition, brings in new and different effects). "I think the older albums had more stuff that looked a little bit at the past. There was more material related to stuff that's been done. I think the newer stuff is focused on ground I don't think has been covered as much," says Brian O'Neill, the band leader who goes by Mr. Ho.
Slated for release on Nov. 19, Where Here Meets There includes a batch of new compositions (Here) on Side A, followed by a collection of O'Neill's unique cover arrangements of classical and orchestral works (There).
O'Neill still kills on the vibraphone, and Geni Skendo on the bass flute, with percussionist Shane Shanahan bassist Jason Davis. Part of this album's distinct flavor comes from the orchestrotica's new member, Tev Stevig, who brings a large collection of plucked string instruments from all over the world. "I look at him as almost like a percussionist in the sense that they have lots of sounds up their sleeve," O'Neill says.
Those new instruments, combined with O'Neill's rambunctious riffs on familiar tunes, fill this album with Easter eggs that the careful listener can discover. In the first two tracks of the Here side, for example, a sort of low-pitched banjo sound underlies the arrangement. That's a tanbur, O'Neill explained, a sort of long-necked lute traditionally played in Turkish classical music.
Later in the album, on the cover of Gerswin's 'Prelude for Piano II,' listen out for another familiar tune, the 'Siamese Cat Song' from Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp,' which makes an appearance four minutes in. The familiar tune gives way to a cacophonous romp, which O'Neill says represents the cats' mischief.
"You're supposed to imagine these cats running around on the piano," O'Neill says. "It's this whole free-jazz improvisation by the whole band. You may not pick that up at a party or whatever but you'd notice it at home."
And that's part of the fun of this album. While the exotic sounds, loungey rhythms, and smart melodies make it perfect to throw on at a low-key cocktail party (particularly a tiki-themed one), it's also an extraordinarily enjoyable listen on its own. "I always hope people can get something out of it on a cursory listen, but they can also sit down and pull something deeper out of it," O'Neill says.
I asked him to describe the ideal situation in which to take in the record: "It's the armchair traveler, as they used to say with exotica. The guy who goes into the basement and turns the lights down low. They're there to listen to the album. Not on shuffle or pick out the singles, but to slow down and enjoy music in a quiet setting, maybe have a cocktail or a couple friends over. I like to design for that."


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Echeveria Ariel Cristata
This is a typical Ariel crest, formation is not perfect, nor is this cluster perfectly stressed. Still a must have for any collector, so if you don't already have this in your collection this is a perfect opportunity to snag a healthy Ariel crest. Measures in at about 3.75" across. stem only.
You will receive the exact plant shown. Our photos and videos were taken on January 15th, 2021. Plants shown may be exhibiting winter stress coloration. If the succulent shown is vibrantly colored you will need to keep bright lights and cold temps on the succulent to keep its winter colors, but stress colors may fade a little as the plant establishes in its new home.
Cedar Creek Farmhouse Identification Number: 01162135 (you will find this number on the ID stake shipped with your plant. You can type the ID # in our search bar at any time to review the our original photos and item description).
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NRA points to video games as part of gun violence issue
NRA VP Wayne LaPierre argued that guns themselves are not the cause of gun-related violence in the country, choosing to deflect much of the blame on violent media. "There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people."
The National Rifle Association has ended their week-long silence in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school shooting. NRA VP Wayne LaPierre argued that guns themselves are not the cause of gun-related violence in the country, choosing to deflect much of the blame on violent media. "There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people," Lapierre said in a press conference.
He then named specific titles as examples of the media's corrupting influence: "Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm (pictured), Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse."
He also pointed out a game called "Kindergarten Killer," insinuating that the media had covered up any serious discussion around it. "It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?" The title appears to be a rudimentary Flash game with the main character mowing down cartoon children in shooting gallery.
LaPierre added: "Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"
The NRA believes that future incidents like the one in Newton can be prevented by implementing armed guards in schools. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre noted.
Asa Hutchinson, former administrator of the DEA and former member of the US House of Representatives, also chimed in on the NRA's plan: "School safety is a complex issue with no simple, single solution. But I believe trained, qualified, armed security is one key component among many that can provide the first line of deterrence as well as the last line of defense. And I welcome the opportunity to serve in this vital, potentially lifesaving effort."
You can read the full transcript of the press conference here.
Update: The Entertainment Consumers Association issued their own statement in response to the NRA comments:
We agree with the Supreme Court's decisions, and the volumes of scientific research, which all clearly state that there is no causal link between media violence and real life violence," said Jennifer Mercurio, Vice President & General Counsel at the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA). "As we are all learning increasingly through the news, this is a situation of the perpetrator's mental disorders, and his family's inability to adequately deal with them in time. Our hearts remain with all those suffering in the aftermath of this horrendous crime.


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New Family Dollar Coupons: 5.00 off 25.00 & More!
Don't forget to print your $5 off $25 purchase at Family Dollar for this week. While you're there you can print several Family Dollar store coupns valid thru 10-31:
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Several coupns in the RP 9-30 to stack with!
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Hopefully we'll get a manufacturer's coupn soon on the trash bags for stacking!
You can also get instant coupns on your phone!
Don't forget, we also have these printables too!
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I've been searching for a particular old school hack and ran across this little gem. I don't know why I'm so intrigued by tube amps.. the high voltage, the glow, the power – oh yeah, never-mind. One of the most expensive parts of a tube amp is the transformer. They scored a pair of mono-block amps and walk us through replacing virtually every part except the transformers. My problem? I need at least 6.
8 thoughts on "Rebuilding Tube Amps"
Nice. I have a pair of monoblocks that are just sitting around waiting to be rebuil, and this seems like just the guide to help me do it.
Of course, I still have the rest of my house to rebuild….*sigh*
Good to see another audio hack! Audio equipment always fascinates me… it is sort of an odd mixture of worlds.
Anyway, good article… though any article on DIY tubes really ought to have safety instructions included IMHO. I think what should be noted, though, is that lots of tube amp designs are pretty easy to build… I think doing one of these refurb jobs is probably MORE work than building one from scratch. What you really save in refurb is money… primarily on the iron and maybe the chassis, but it seems like a lot of work to go to when you include the time spent searching, experimenting, tracing wires etc. etc.
BTW, if you are looking for cheap tube amps there used to be a fly-weight kit that sold for $120 or so. I couldn't find the link off hand but if anyone is interested I'll dig deeper for it tomorrow.
Also, consider putting tubes on the pre-amplification side of the equation. That way your power (and thus expense and complexity) requirements are much lower but you still get that tubey sound. Plus then you can use solid-state for what it is great at, fairly efficient and clean amplification of signal.
thats a great idea blip, i love the distortion of a Tube amp, but only as an accent to the sound, it shouldn't overpower the music itself.
What a beautiful project!
If it sounds 1/3 as good as it looks after the refurb then you are doing just fine. Nice work!!
I know a couple guys who refurbish old shortwave radios and the procedures seem about the same.
I'm not even a tube enthusiast, but the projects make for some great reading.
Keep up the great work hack a day!
Nice, but maybe an idea would be to post a site describing a home build simple valve amp?
Great post, but I was disapointed to not see any safty information.
wow when i was young i had so many transformers (yes the electrical things not the toys) and i would just unwravel them..
now i realize my mistakes
you can find them alot of places tho like old electronics you just want to make sure they are the right type for what you need i would guess?
@g0d: Pretty much everything wall powered and electrical contains a transformer, it's getting the right type that counts ;)
I've never really bought in to the "tube sound" thing (I'm happy with accurate recronstruction thanks) but this is a very nice job. The chroming is great.
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[ILNumerics Computing Engine]
Namespace: ILNumerics
Assembly: ILNumerics.Computing (in ILNumerics.Computing.dll) Version: 22.214.171.124 (5.5.7503.3146)
- Type: ILNumericsBaseArrayInt16
The first array. - B
- Type: ILNumericsBaseArrayInt16
The second array.
Return Value
Type: RetLogicalLogical array with the size broadcasted from A and B.
General notes on binary broadcasting operators: The operation is performed elementwise on corresponding elements of A and B. The sizes of both input arrays must be broadcastable and determine the size of the resulting array. Note, that broadcasting is performed, regardless of the current setting of ArrayStyle. However, the ArrayStyle configuration affects the operation in the following ways:
- If A and B have different number of dimensions, the array with fewer dimensions is (virtually) padded with singleton dimensions, until the number of dimensions of both arrays match. In ILNumericsV4 the singleton dimensions are added to the end of dimensions. For numpy singletons are padded to the start, such that here, broadcasting aligns the last dimensions.
- ILNumericsV4: Result values of integer element types T are clamped to the natural range of the interger type. I.e.: there will be no 'wrapping around' when exceeding the upper or lower limits of the natural value range of the integer type. Also, the operation may be performed by utilizing Int16 precision floating point arithmetics and subsequently casting the result to the desired integer value. For numpy no such precautions exist and the result of the binary operation is exactly the same as for operating the elements as System types (and as in numpy itself).
This function is parallelized for multiple cores. If possible, a suitable A or B is directly utilized in order to perform the operation inplace: instead of storing the results into new memory the input array and/or its storage is reused and returned.
[ILNumerics Computing Engine]


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White supremacists arrested: Massive weapons stash leads to firearms charges
| FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.
Two members of a notorious family that authorities say once tried to set up a whites-only nation in America were arrested this week in Arizona on federal firearms charges after a raid on a sprawling ranch netted dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Kirby Kehoe and his 37-year-old son, Cheyne, had an initial court appearance Tuesday in Flagstaff. Cheyne Kehoe's attorney declined to discuss the case, while a lawyer for Kirby Kehoe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Authorities received a tip that Kirby Kehoe, 65, had weapons on his 40-acre property near Ash Fork, about 140 miles north of Phoenix, said Tom Mangan, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Agents who raided the property seized dozens of guns, including shotguns and semi-automatic rifles and pistols, according to the ATF. Kirby Kehoe was arrested on site, while federal authorities picked up Cheyne Kehoe in Prescott, where he had a scheduled court appearance in another case.
Kirby and Cheyne Kehoe both have previous felony convictions and are banned from possessing firearms. Each faces one charge stemming from the raid, but Mangan said the list could grow to include more weapons and narcotics charges.
The Kehoe family has been well-known to law enforcement since the 1990s when authorities say they provided weapons to various white supremacists who committed robberies across the Midwest. Authorities also said the family was involved in a plot to overthrow the federal government and establish the Aryan Peoples Republic in the Pacific Northwest.
Another son, Chevie Kehoe, is serving a life sentence in federal prison for his role in the 1996 killings of an Arkansas gun dealer, his wife and their 8-year-old daughter as part of the plot.
Cheyne Kehoe was sentenced in 1998 to more than 24 years in prison for his role in a shootout with Ohio police during a traffic stop about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati. His sentence later was reduced to 11 years. No officers were injured in the gun battle, but a passer-by was wounded by a bullet fragment.
The family patriarch, Kirby Kehoe, was sentenced in 1999 to nearly four years in prison for racketeering and possession of illegal weapons in a case related to the plot aimed at overthrowing the government. The elder Kehoe, however, has maintained he was never involved in his sons' efforts to establish a whites-only nation and that he isn't a racist.
Mangan said due to the violent nature of the family's past, authorities planned the Monday raid carefully, first setting up surveillance on the property before moving in with search warrants, heavily armed tactical teams and armored vehicles.
He said the raid was conducted in cooperation with law enforcement from around the country and was planned to avoid the potential for a violent confrontation.
"The reason and rationale for having executed the warrant on the property in that manner was driven by public safety, just based on the past history of this individual and the sons," Mangan said Tuesday. "When a traffic stop was being conducted in Ohio, it turned into a nationwide manhunt, and we obviously didn't want to revisit that issue."
Kirby Kehoe is due back in court Thursday for a preliminary and detention hearing. Cheyne Kehoe's next court appearance is set for Oct. 22.
Skoloff reported from Phoenix


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Strategic Operating Cost (OpEx) Management
The course is designed for
This course is designed for participants who are new to Strategic OpEx Management (SOM) and those who have been operating in an Asset, Operations, Maintenance or cost/planning role for some time but would like to update their knowledge to the latest proven techniques in SOM/asset management practices.
- Asset/Operations/Maintenance/SOM Project Managers
- Finance Managers
- Heads of Department
- Team Leaders/Supervisors
The principles in this course, although focused for upstream oil and gas, are equally applicable for downstream and utility businesses.
Learning Objectives
- To understand how the SOM process methodology affects your business performance proactively and how to reduce OpEx costs
- To review how various Planning types integrate into dynamic business lifecycle models
- To understand when to apply strategic cost management at various phases of the E&P lifecycle
- To understand how Activity Based Cost (ABC) modelling provides transparency to challenge the cost drivers
- To be able to conduct a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to assist in scenario and "what-if" modelling
- To be capable of conducting asset performance reviews
Course outline
SOM and Life of Field Manuscripts
Collaborative team working and individual roles
Business Plans and Asset environment
Alignment with Operations strategies
Life of Asset key events calendar and strategic reviews
SOM Performance Management
Asset performance and Value driver models
Target setting and benchmarking Operations performance
Cost reduction Process
Review future of existing assets and SWOT process
End of Field Life analysis including late life optimisation
Strategic Opex Management (SOM)
E&P economic environment
Strategic OpEx Management
E&P Life cycle and components of SOM
Company's business and corporate planning models
SOM Planning and Management of Risk Process
Introduction and importance of planning types (Tactical, Operational and Strategic)
Discussion and examples of the various planning types
Alignment with Life of field (Asset) plans
Activity Based Costing in the SOM process
Risk Management in SOM
Venture life cycle concepts
All prices are per participant, in local currency, and subject to local taxes.
Payment will be taken via Eventbrite or through our partner's booking system where the event is coordinated by them.
Location | Start Date | End Date | Cost | Trainer | Book |
Upon request | Terry Hancocks | Make enquiry |
"Great exposure of OPEX/COST management throughout E&P life cycle using the strategic OPEX management & OPEST."
- Julian Leong Fook, ExxonMobil, Malaysia
Previous page: Flexible Pipe Engineering
Next page: Upstream Oil and Gas Development Lifecycle Costing


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You are 28 Weeks and 3 Days Pregnant
Like many pregnant women, you may feel that you've disappeared behind your belly; that the essence of who you are has been lost in the guise of "pregnant woman." People may no longer ask about how you're feeling, or what's going on in your life. Instead of "How are you?", they might ask, "Is everything OK with the baby?"
It can be difficult for people, and even for you, to remember that you still exist in a role that is separate from pregnant woman or mother. If during your pregnancy you are feeling very frustrated by this, consider doing something just for you, maybe some pampering or a dinner for two, to make you feel special again.
Ask A... Doctor
This sounds like sciatica, a sharp pain that travels down the back and leg when the sciatic nerve-the longest nerve in the body-is trapped in a joint in the lower back. This is not related to your pregnancy, although it can get worse in pregnancy. For lower back pain, warm baths and a warm compress can help, as can gentle massage by an experienced practitioner. Exercise such as yoga or water aerobics classes can help strengthen back muscles, but check with your doctor before embarking on a new exercise regimen. Watch your posture (see Pregnancy posture) and wear comfortable, supportive shoes.
If you have sciatica, ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist. You'll be shown exercises to help relieve the pain and minimize the risk of it recurring.
Focus On... Nutrition
Grazing through the day
You need to eat plenty of good-quality protein to encourage your baby's growth and keep you in glowing good health, so try to eat either eggs, cheese, lean meats, fish, legumes, or grains at every meal. Add to that lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some unrefined carbohydrates (see Get carb loading).
Break the food down into a plan of five to seven small meals and snacks each day. If you usually have soup and a sandwich for lunch, try a vegetable soup mid-morning, and have the sandwich later; prepare snacks such as raw vegetables, cheese, nuts, and fruit and graze on them through the afternoon. Perhaps have a bowl of oatmeal early evening, followed by fruit later.
There are no "rules" about when food needs to be eaten, so eat these "mini-meals" when you're hungry. As long as you get the nutrients you need and don't overeat, you can graze as often as you like.
Pregnancy Day by Day
By Consultant Editor, Paula Amato, MDOriginal source: Pregnancy Day by Day.
Copyright © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Purchase on Amazon


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The new Waters IdentityE High Definition Proteomics System catalogs complex protein digest mixtures containing tens of thousands of peptides. The system features a Waters nanoACQUITY® UPLC System for high chromatographic peak capacity and retention time reproducibility, together with an electrospray tandem mass spectrometer - Waters Q-Tof Premier™ or Waters Synapt HDMS system - for high dynamic mass resolution and consistent over-sampling of complex protein digests – two hallmarks of high definition proteomics.
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Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act (H.R. 459), or "Audit the Fed," passed Wednesday July 25, 2012 in the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin of 327-98, exceeding the two-thirds majority needed. It had 274 cosponsors. But, by the evening of the same day, mainstream press around the country was already preparing the people for the bill's fate in the Democrat-controlled Senate. As the Chicago Tribune and others reported, it had little chance of passing in the Senate, let alone being signed into law by the President. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has already said that the Senate will not even consider the bill, because, as Ron Paul told CSPAN, he didn't have the "guts." With this in mind, as well as their own reputations, Romney, Boehner and Cantor backed it. Even Harry Reid backed it... in 1987 and 2010, but now he has changed his mind on a Fed audit for some reason.
But, here is the plain fact of the matter. We already know what the Federal Reserve is doing. Sure we may not know exactly which banks get exactly which graft, which may be of some interest. But for the most part we know exactly what they are doing. They are artificially price-fixing/manipulating interest rates at 0% through to 2014... which will be six years of ZIRP. And they are counterfeiting as much money as is necessary to support the massive trillion+ dollar deficits that the US Government has been doing for the last five years and with no end in sight in an unprecedented amount of money printing that has never been surpassed in Federal Reserve history.
And, any audit that uncovers these two facts will do nothing to change anything. The western world's propaganda campaign to teach only Keynesian economics, which are pro-money printing and deficit spending, have enveloped all levels of society now. It is all that is taught in the economics department of almost every university in the west including Harvard and Oxford. So, will auditing the Fed change anything? Of course not.
Not to mention, even if the bill did pass Senate and mass murderer Barack Obomber signed the bill into law it is unlikely that the regulators assigned to the task of auditing the fed would really have the "guts" to properly audit the public-private institution. The Fed is above-and-beyond the rest of the financial industry insofar as it submits to no regulatory oversight. But, this regulatory oversight of the financial industry has done nothing to stem the moral hazard and abuses of power that plagues the sector. The same would be true of the Federal Reserve. With two sets of books, a bribe and a threat here-and-there, the malfeasance can be made to disappear. We've seen it before and we will see it again.
This would lead to an audit of the forged set of books the Fed keeps which supports the evidence that the Fed is doing what it can do to achieve the objectives of its "light", impossible mandate - maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates - as enunciated by the Federal Reserve Act. The set of books which support the evidence that the Fed is doing what it can do to achieve the objectives of its "dark" mandate - pillaging the planet of its every last vestige of wealth - would be safely kept far away from the Fed's auditors.
That means that the real success of the bill, as even Ron Paul has argued, has been the light it has shone on the secretive Federal Reserve. As Paul said on the floor on Tuesday, the American people are "sick and tired of what happened in the bailout and where the wealthy got bailed out and the poor lost their jobs and they lost their homes." Since the crisis, Fed asset purchases have swollen the bank's balance sheet to $2.8 trillion from around $800 billion. For three-and-a-half years it has kept interest rates at nearly zero, as well as pledged to keep them at these levels at least until late 2014.
Among Federal Reserve policies that would be scrutinized under the bill are monetary policy, deliberations and decisions, agreements with foreign central banks, foreign governments, finance capital and international organizations like the International Monetary Fund. These are areas of the Federal Reserve that were made illegal to audit in the 1970s. Paul's bill would remove these prohibitions.
Paul's bill would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full Fed audit. Paul's son, Republican Senator Rand Paul, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate, but, as Reid has said, Democrats in control of the Senate will most likely not bring this to a vote. Rand Paul was expected to try to force a vote on it as an amendment to other legislation. There are hints that the bill could resurface in 2013 if Republicans win control of the Senate this November, as Rand Paul is set to succeed his father as Congress' top Federal Reserve critic. But, it is clear that Rand Paul has not been as stalwart as his father when it comes to libertarian and constitutional principles, which leaves the bill prone to a further watering down under Rand's watch.
Nonetheless, Ron Paul has once again been successful- and no, not in the sense that his bill passed. But, instead, in the sense that the headlines across the nation yesterday were swirling with news of the bill's passing, bringing the Federal Reserve once again into the limelight for all to see. With the paramount help of Ron Paul and the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has gone from a mystery to the American people to an entity that 75% of Americans are in favor of publicly auditing. As Paul says, "I like to think of it more as verifying my approach is a little bit different than just becoming a powerful player and having influence, versus really changing people's minds."
Nevertheless, that we do not know certain things about the Fed is not the problem, it's the fact that central banking at its core is criminal and does nothing but impoverish people and economies. Auditing the Fed is like auditing GOSPLAN, the Soviet State Planning Commission, a very important institution in Soviet Russia. Throughout numerous "reformations" of the soviet economy, GOSPLAN maintained its central role in determining production and investment decisions until the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. No matter how many more left shoes were made than right shoes, GOSPLAN endured.
The mentality in US politics towards the Fed is similar to the mentality towards GOSPLAN in the Soviet Union: economic central planning is not up for debate - we just would maybe like to tinker with it a bit.
But the reality is that auditing the Fed is akin to auditing a mafia counterfeiting operation. We know they are doing it and the great majority of people approve of them doing it.
Auditing the Fed, while maybe a small step for mankind, does nothing to really end the crime of central banking. All auditing does is ask the man who robbed your house what he did with the proceeds and then letting him go on about his business.
Until people realize that nothing will change for the better. Unfortunately, very few in the world have any critical thinking abilities, again thanks to the government indoctrination centers and fascist media propaganda. Therefore, central banking, like Soviet style central planning, will only end once they destroy themselves because all artificial, criminal systems are unsustainable.
As dollar vigilantes we await their demise with great pleasure. But it won't come at the hand of a government auditor.
The Federal Reserve will only end when it ends in the tears of a hyperinflation within 3-5 years. Protect yourself now. Subscribe to The Dollar Vigilante, the only newsletter whose express focus is info, news, analysis and advice on how to survive The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI).